"I want it to be different." -- Benjamin Braddock on his future, in "The Graduate."
The Dartmouth Film Studies department loves "The Graduate." One of our own, Buck Henry '52, wrote the screenplay for this fine film (a sharp adaptation of the novel by Charles Webb), and he also played the pivotal role of Desk Clerk. But Henry has had countless achievements in the film industry since "The Graduate" -- he's had parts in "Heaven Can Wait," Grumpy Old Men" and "Short Cuts," among dozens of others. Why does Film Studies continue to tout one of his oldest achievements?
Because "The Graduate" is a Classic Movie, and we are consequently convinced that Buck Henry has found a Purpose in Life. Considering the high-powered film scholarship at this school, you'd think someone would have realized how asinine this configuration is, for "The Graduate" is specifically about the emptiness of a search for Purpose in Life.
That's right, Benjamin Braddock has "graduated" into a world that doesn't care that he was a track star or that he tied for the honor of valedictorian or that he received awards for his imminent scholarship. Ben has graduated into a world that doesn't care about him very much at all, so he's left to fend for himself in finding a reason for the last four years, in giving himself a purpose. Ben experiences a particularly traumatic moment when a well-meaning guest at his graduation party, in that all-too-often-recited line, attempts to sum up Ben's future in one word: "plastics."
Ben is hopelessly inept at this purpose-finding task, so Mrs. Robinson gives him a strong nudge in her direction. Ben is inept at this task, too ("It's nothing to be ashamed of"), but he learns quickly. When Mrs. Robinson admonishes Ben against dating her daughter, we expect him to storm off indignantly, but then we realize that Ben has become entrenched in this quasi-relationship, complacent in the purpose Mrs. Robinson has provided him.
But Ben does take Elaine Robinson out for a date, and Ben does fall in love with Elaine, and Ben does end it with Mrs. Robinson. Now Ben has a mission -- to convince Elaine that she's in love with him, too. We sympathize with Ben as he chases Elaine to Berkeley and to her wedding night -- in that sense, the second half of the film would actually be a fairly standard girl-plays-hard-to-get sequence if it weren't for Dustin Hoffman's ingenious portrayal of the neurotic, eternally laid-back Ben.
The chase culminates in another oft-remembered moment, and rightly so, for this is a truly classic ending. After we have breathlessly watched Ben chase his girl, we are poised to revel in his success and to leave the movie with a good feeling. Director Mike Nichols gives us no such satisfaction, and we're left to watch Ben sit in the back of the bus with his girl and his blank stare, an expression that countless academics have analyzed.
My take is that Ben's stare on the bus is the same one he had at the beginning of the film when he was laying on his bed looking up at the ceiling and moaning about his "future." His quest for Elaine gave him a purpose, but he's finally snagged his bride, and he has to find something new. The chase is over, now what?
This is not an uplifting film. The title makes it all the more ominous for our class of graduating seniors -- is their near future going to be so bleak? Let us review the lessons of "The Graduate" so that perhaps we can learn from Ben's mistakes:
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If you are male, do not fall in love. You will only experience emotional trauma as you pursue the object of your affections, and on the off chance that you can convince her of your merits, you may realize that you just missed the best part.
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On the other hand, if you are female, fall in love at all costs, or else you will end up like Mrs. Robinson, having to seduce sexually inadequate college boys to give yourself a reason for living.
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Do not pursue a life that is "different," for this is hopeless.
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Do not pursue a normal life, such as one that involves "plastics," for this is hopelessly boring.
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Do not hope.
All jokes aside, the true lesson of "The Graduate" is that it is a lost cause to search for a Purpose in Life. Give it up.
I know what you're thinking. This is the sugary sweet Commencement and Reunion issue, shouldn't this jackass be saying something about what a joyful and momentous occasion this is, and how all our graduates are just really swell folks, and how they're going to go on to great things and change the world for the better, inventing cures for several diseases that plague mankind and just generally making people feel keen?
But when I say "Give it up," I mean it in the best way possible. To me, "The Graduate" tells students that the fastest way to a rewarding life is to just not worry about it like Ben does. Have a good time, do what you want, and that elusive feeling of a meaningful existence will come to you eventually. Don't beat yourself up in the meantime.
Of course, this is easy for me to say, I've still got three more years of loving college and having relatively little to worry about. Good luck, Class of 2000!
